The more advanced our technology becomes, the more we are able to integrate it into almost every part of our daily lives. We have smart cars, smart TVs, and smart homes. If you love technology and keeping up with the latest gadget trends, or if you just want to give your kitchen a futuristic upgrade, check out this post by New Life Bath and Kitchen at My Kukun! Here are some of the latest kitchen tech trends:

-Smart ovens- start pre-heating from your phone, or control temperature and cook time.

-Smart refrigerators- have cameras installed, so you can check the contents from your phone while you’re out shopping.

It’s always interesting to see a company joining a field, rather than innovating a field. Sometimes it works; Apple’s iPhone and iPad are good examples of a company entering an existing field and taking it over by making superior products or via better marketing. Sometimes it doesn’t work; Microsoft Zune, anyone? Still, there can never be too much competition, and Google has decided that it’s going to lock horns with Amazon directly. Google has revealed a voice-responsive digital assistant for the home.

The AI, Google Assistant, comes built into Google’s new device, Google Home. Basically, it works the same was as Amazon’s Echo, but with a little more capacity for suggestions. Google Assistant is going to be packaged with Google’s new chat app, Allo, and Google’s new video chat app Duo. Google Home also connects with your television via a dongle, to your smartphone, and to the cloud to play music once you yell out that you’d like to hear some AC/DC or whatever.

No doubt these new features will push the Echo to respond in kind, which benefits everyone. The more features the better, and the more the merrier when it comes to pushing the limits of what a device can do.

“We think of it as a conversational assistant, having an ongoing two-way dialogue with Google,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai during Google I/O. “We want to get things done in the real world. Think of this as building each user his own individual Google.”

One of the troublesome things about apps is that you never really know what you’re actually going to get before you download it. It might be something fun, and you might love the game or whatever you’ve downloaded. However, most of the apps that are free come with a catch. That catch is, of course, you’re not paying for the app with money, you’re paying for it with your eyeballs. Free apps come with ads, by and large, and Google Play is going to make that more transparent. Google Play will label all apps that have embedded advertisements.

There’s also a notice already in place that announces when apps have in-app purchases, so that’s two of the biggest bugaboos I have with apps displayed right up front. Given the choice between spending a dollar or two on an app versus being force-fed ads, I’ll typically go with the ads. However, if the paid, ad-free version is, say, $1, and it’s something I really love? You bet I’ll pony up for it.

Here’s how it works. You enter a personal goal into your Google Goals. Google Goals then looks at your Google Calendar and figures out a time in which you can accomplish your personal goals. If you add something to your Calendar that conflicts with your Google Goal, then Goals will move your personal goal to a different time to avoid the conflict. The more you work with Google Goals, the better the program will be at helping you accomplish your long-held goals.

As someone with a lot of personal projects and not as much time as I would like to do things that I want to do, rather than things I have to do, I love this idea. Of course, I’m not great at keeping a calendar, but… maybe I can make that my goal?

There’s nothing better than having the hottest new piece of technology in your hand. I mean, who doesn’t love being on the cutting edge, provided that edge isn’t sharp enough to cut you? Companies are all trying to be lighter, thinner, larger, brighter, and with more battery life, and it looks like Amazon is taking this plan to heart with their newly-announced Kindle Oasis. Granted, they haven’t released it yet, but the design specs have already been leaked. Here’s what the leaked Kindle Oasis looks like.

The thing I like most about the Kindle Oasis is just how small it is. It’s the lightest Kindle offering by far, 27 percent lighter than the Kindle Voyage and 36 percent lighter than the Kindle Paperwhite. It’s so small and light it can be held with only one hand, which would make reading in bed a whole lot easier for back sleepers. There’s an accelerometer in that determines if the book is being held in the left or right hand, and to make sure it’s oriented appropriately.

That bump you see above? That’s where your hand grip is supposed to be. That just might be easier to use than an actual paperback book, even if it doesn’t have the promised solar power case yet. However, the current case does support a second external battery, which should help keep things juiced up while on the go.

I’m a substitute teacher, and I use timers every day with kids to keep things organized. They’ll have so long for bellwork, independent reading, assignments, etc., before moving on. It’s also useful if the teacher left a game for them to play, or a timed test/quiz. And they’re not just useful at school! You can use a timer at home in TONS of different ways. Find out why timers are a mom’s best friend by reading this post by Rachel at A Mother Far From Home:

-Have independent play time, if your kids are struggling with that

-Get out the energy! Set a timer and have a crazy, noisy, fun time until it runs out!

Peter Byrne is a man from New Jersey who has cerebral palsy. Despite the debilitating medical condition, he hasn’t stopped enjoying one of his favorite hobbies: playing video games. However, he was having an issue with his game constantly being paused accidentally due to the placement of the pause button and his left hand. He would accidentally hit the touchpad and pause the game, which as anyone can tell you, is super annoying. Fortunately, a kind PlayStation employee built a custom PS4 controller for him.

The amazing thing isn’t that Alex Nawabi built the PS4 controller on his own time, but that it’s not even part of his job. He’s in the retail marketing division, but he was able to take some controllers apart and put together something that would work for Peter’s special needs. It’s all part of PlayStation’s plan to make their games as approachable as possible.

“I honestly got choked up reading the letter as I did not expect anything like this to happen,” Peter added in his Facebook message. “Mr. Nawabi really cared about my situation and did this on his own time to make my experience better. I honestly can’t thank him enough for everything he did for me. Thank you Mr. Nawabi it really means a lot too me!”